The COVID-19 pandemic is battering the live events and ticketing industries, forcing many companies to issue furloughs and layoffs while weathering the storm. TicketNetwork is putting off those difficult decisions by implementing cost-cutting initiatives in an effort to retain staff.
TicketNetwork founder and CEO Don Vaccaro informed the more than 500 employees of steps being taken to keep business running in a company-wide email sent last week. Among these measures are pay cuts to senior staff and executives earning above a certain threshold.
“We asked a lot of senior staff to make a sacrifice to help us find a way through this. Every single one agreed. They showed how much we value our staff and put others first. I cannot express how proud I am of our organization,” Vaccaro said.
TicketNetwork is facing sales figures 90 percent off from previous years given the widespread cancellation of live events consumers would otherwise be in the market of buying tickets for. Despite the nature of current business, the company is focused on looking forward at the industry’s eventual resurgence rather than issuing layoffs.
“During the next few weeks, our focus as a company is going to be on strategies to come back from this stronger than ever,” Vaccaro said. “We want to be able to move quicker, reduce expenses, and make the most of the opportunities that await once everybody gets back to business. Many of our competitors are doing things differently in this crisis. But rather than take the easy way by slashing our staff, we are making that a measure of last resort. We believe this approach is going to leave us well positioned to grow for our clients and customers in 2020 and beyond.”
Other industry leaders have responded with staff cuts, most notably StubHub. The resale site furloughed 67 percent of its staff until June at the earliest and was recently hit with a lawsuit over its change in refund policy during the pandemic.
